by Chengetai Madziwa – SANF 05 no 44
Zambia’s first president, Kenneth Kaunda has urged African countries to drive their own development processes and move away from being dependent on external influence.
“Decolonisation of Africa should inspire us to strive for the attainment of sustainable economic and social development,” said Kaunda during an award ceremony held in honour of the heroes who contributed to the liberation of Zimbabwe and other southern African countries.
He emphasised that it is time for African people to take advantage of the freedom they now have after being freed from colonialism and apartheid. The freedom of Africa is a result of the sacrifices made by the continent’s heroes, he said.
“We can honour our fallen heroes and fulfil their vision of a prosperous Africa. A vision for an African continent which is able to be a key player in the global economy,” said Kaunda.
African countries have remained weak on the global economy due to the fact that their economies are less competitive.
Most African countries are characterised by low economic growth, low investment and poor infrastructure, which limit economic development.
Policies such as Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) designed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have not yielded the desired economic development on the continent. In most cases these policies have left African countries with huge international debts, which they are unable to pay.
The veteran nationalist said there is too much external influence with ideas and models of what Africa should espouse, ignoring its real image.
The limited economic development on the continent has been further exacerbated by the challenges of HIV and AIDS, poverty and underdevelopment. HIV and AIDS have had a negative effect on the workforce with thousands of people dying from the pandemic, leaving behind orphans.
“Indeed Africa must take the lead in its own liberation from poverty, disease, hunger and HIV,” said Kaunda.
African nations have a duty to develop and advance their respective economies, he said.
The African Union (AU) has taken the matter seriously by adopting the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), which is an African initiative that takes into account the needs and realities of the continent.
At the regional level, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has designed policies that are tailor-made for the development of the region.
The Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), which is SADC’s blueprint for the next 15 years, is a guide for the region’s development based on home-grown strategies and targets.
The RISDP covers essentially all sectors that are critical to development in the region including poverty eradication; combating of HIV and AIDS; gender equality and development; science and technology; information and communication technologies; environment and sustainable development; private sector; statistics; trade, liberalisation and economic development; infrastructural support for regional integration; sustainable food security; and human and social development.
It also proposes strategies that are aimed at meeting certain targets that are in line with the NEPAD goals as well as the global Millennium Development Goals.
The continent remains aware of the importance of belonging to a global economy. It is encouraging to note that countries in the SADC region have through consultations among themselves taken a strong position for fair play on the multilateral trading arena and continue to strive to implement home-grown development initiatives. (SARDC)
